Moneycontrol review: Should Indian students travelling abroad avail of MakeMyTrip’s bundled offering?

MakeMyTrip has announced new bundled offering for students traveling abroad

This time every year, many students from India travel to countries like the UK, US, Canada, Australia and the euro area to pursue their educational dreams. They travel for extended stays, so their requirements differ from those of the regular traveller. Extra baggage allowance, for instance, is one of the essential requirements.

As the new term season kicks off, travel services website platform MakeMyTrip has partnered with airlines for extra baggage and competitive student fares, with banks to finance exclusive discounts while booking tickets through credit cards and travel accessory brands for concessions.

Let’s look at the offerings and evaluate whether it's worth opting for it.

What does it offer?

MakeMyTrip has partnered with several airlines, including Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (the two are part of the same group but operate independently), Air Mauritius, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, SriLankan Airlines, Thai Airways and Vistara. The benefits vary with the airlines and destinations. For instance, Qatar Airways offers a 10 percent discount on base fare and one free date change. Similarly, Cathay Pacific offers a 10 percent discount on base fare in economy and allows one additional piece of luggage of 23 kg if a student is traveling to the Philippines, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. Those travelling to the US or Canada get the extra baggage allowance but no discount (see graphic for illustration of benefits offered by the partnered airline).

To make it easier on the pocket, MakeMyTrip has tied up with some card issuing companies including American Express, Axis Bank, Citibank and ICICI Bank. These companies extend a discount if you use a credit card issued by them to book flight tickets.

Students can also avail 50-70 percent discount while shopping for travel accessories from partnered brands which include American Tourister, Wildcraft, Tommy Hilfiger, etc.

“This is a smart offer by MakeMyTrip. With this bundled product offerings, it would get traction from the students’ segment,” says Naveen Chopra, founder and chairman of TCGlobal, a global education consultancy firm.

“This integrated offering will lead to economy and convenience for the student cohort traveling abroad, especially to destinations such as the US, Canada, Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand,” says Saujanya Shrivastava, chief operating officer, Flights, Holidays & Gulf Cooperation Council at MakeMyTrip.

Eligibility criteria to avail this offering

This bundled product is available for students between 15 and 34 years of age who are going abroad for educational purposes only. The students can avail the benefits simply by submitting their university acceptance letter/ID card and student visa on the specified section of the portal. “Some of the other stipulations vary from airline to airline,” says Shrivastava.

These offerings are available on the MakeMyTrip website and mobile app via the students’ funnel, which needs to be selected while making a flight search.

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What works

MakeMyTrip is offering deals on all products required by students travelling abroad, such as extra baggage, special discounts on flight tickets, and discounted travel accessories.

“Overall, the bundled offering for Indian students traveling abroad from MakeMyTrip can be a convenient option with potential benefits. It allows students and their families to customise the travel according to their specific requirements,” says Rohan Ganeriwala, co-founder and director, Collegify, a global education consultancy firm. He adds that by partnering with various global airlines and banks to ease the pain at the time of buying tickets, MakeMyTrip is offering competitive deals and reliable services.

For instance, the students can avail of a flat 12 percent discount, up to Rs 10,000, while booking the airline tickets using the partnered bank credit card.

“The airlines which they have partnered with are a reasonable mix for students,” says Chopra.

There are no additional charges that one needs to pay to avail this offering.

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What doesn’t work

Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways have offered the benefits for new bookings made until June 30, 2023, for all travel dates, a very limited window. However, other partnered airlines have offers till December 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024.

The offer on an airline ticket is only applicable to a student. Parents accompanying students are excluded from this scheme.

Some partnered airlines including Cathay Pacific, Vistara and Thai Airways have a stringent condition: failure to provide a valid student identification at the airport may result in the extra baggage benefit being forfeited and chargeable at the applicable fare, or else they may deny the passenger (student) boarding. This will lead to higher expenses for the students at the last moment.

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Should you opt for it?

The bundled offerings by MakeMyTrip are good for students travelling abroad, but it’s for a limited time period.

“Students who prefer to do it themselves from tier II and tier III cities will probably be attracted to use these bundled services offered by MakeMyTrip,” says Chopra. He adds that established study-abroad counsellors also provide similar benefits by partnering with airlines and banks to pay for airline tickets, apart from the old ravel agency route for booking airline tickets and planning the itinerary.

Individual airlines also offer discounts and additional benefits directly to students for bookings made through their website. If the airlines are offering better offers and discounts, then it’s always best to go directly with the airlines, says analysts.

If you are considering opting for these bundled services from MakeMyTrip, there are various factors you need to consider. “First, understand services and amenities included in the package, such as if you have booked an airline ticket, whether travel insurance is included or not,” says Ganeriwala. Any additional services that might not be covered may require additional payment. He says it is advisable to determine the flexibility of the bundled offering in terms of date changes, cancellations and refunds.

Availability of customer service support is crucial for these products to work in emergency situations, he adds.